My family, My life

Live, learn, and try to remember to update the blog every now and then lol

2011-02-25T08:37:00.003-05:00

So much has changed since Robert got back from his deployment last year. We are all so happy and although there is still a lot of stress with school and preparing to move, life is good.

I was looking back at old videos and pictures and was sad that my babies are all growing up. There is so much that I would have done differently with each of the kids, if only I could go back and fix things. They are happy so I guess I didn't do too bad.

I am learning to fit everything together and make things work with school, the kids' school, Robert's work and taking care of everything at home.

I was put on some new medication to help me sleep and for my panic attacks and vertigo, it has helped a ton but I still wish I didn't need it. I hate having to take meds on a daily basis.

My rabbits went to their new home almost 2 weeks ago. I am still very sad about it and miss them so much. Cameron's allergy problems have almost dissipated so I feel better about my decision to re-home my fur-babies. It was the right choice for my family, even if it broke my heart to do it.

After being with Robert for 9 years it is hard to believe that every day just keeps getting better. We have made many mistakes but have learned and grown from them and are better for them.

I guess that's it for the update. Maybe I will remember to get back to this and update it sometime before next year lol.

MVI_2944

2010-12-26T04:04:00.001-05:00

MVI_2944
Originally uploaded by elaine.pepsicola81

Eminem - Love The Way You Lie Feat. Rihanna (Lyrics)

2010-07-16T20:33:00.000-04:00

Busy busy

2010-06-23T00:30:00.006-04:00

Since I was reminded that I still have a blog I decided I should update it. There is so much going on all the time I sometimes wonder how I manage to do anything. Robert is still deployed, we can't wait till he is home again. The kids are doing good and grow every day. Their schooling is going good. They are not doing as much as I would like but it is summer so I am not going to stress too much about it. I am trying to get Cameron to a point where he will like learning again so I don't want to push too hard. He is doing great with his reading.

The rabbits are doing good, they are getting to where they will tolerate each other but not for very long.

My schooling is ok. I have not been doing as good as I would like but I am passing so that is good.

And as for my pictures, I have come to the decision that I suck at portrait photography and have found that my true passion comes from photographing nature and I would love to get into urban photography as well. I have started an etsy shop but not really getting into that yet, it is just something I wanted to try out and see what it would look like.

That's about it.

Life Happens

2010-04-13T20:02:00.002-04:00

So much has happened since my last update, I don't really know where to start. I have been working on getting my dental work taken care of. That is almost done but with recent events I had to put the remainder of work on hold due to lack of funds. My school has been going ok. I have been getting straight As.

As most everyone knows, Cameron has been struggling with school. He has been failing and the school had informed me that he wasn't going to advance to second grade. I set up a meeting with the school to see about getting him some help. He had a math and reading tutor and started to improve. He has always dealt with bullies and I had to pull him off the school bus and drive him to and from school so he wouldn't get beat up on the bus. The trouble still continued at school and Cameron had been getting more and more angry. This last school year has really changed him. He was always angry, rarely smiled, constantly fighting with his sibblings and complaining even when I try to take them out somewhere fun. It was very sad and difficult to watch my boy grow darker and darker.

There was an incident at school and Cameron was suspended for a week and had a hearing about whether or not he would be going back. The police were also called. After my talk with the cops, I decided to hire a lawyer to protect Cameron from the school and the police. Things went well with the school, they let Cameron back in. Normally that would be a good thing but as soon as he went back, he got in trouble for fighting. And then there was another incident the next day. So I decided we had enough. My boy had suffered enough. I pulled him out of school and have been homeschooling him along with Kevin and Emily.

Homeschooling is the best decision I have ever made. Granted we have not been doing it long, but so far things are much better. Cameron's attitude is improving every day. He no longer has to fear getting kicked and hit and have his backpack taken from him and everything else those horrible kids would do to him. So far we are doing a combination of Abeka and unschooling. We are taking it easy on the structured stuff for now and mainly focusing on unschooling with light book work. I am gradually getting Cameron back into wanting to learn so we are trying to make it as fun as possible. I am also doing a unique schedule with the kids. We are doing 3 days on, 1 day off for 2 months and then they get 1 week off. This will go on all year, with the exception of holidays or sick days. I may change things later if this doesn't work. I just like the freedom to have that choice.

So for the legal stuff, things haven't been going too badly. I haven't had to give the lawyer more money which is great. Haven't heard from the police so that is probably a good sign as well.

Robert is still deployed and doing as well as one can be who is stuck out in the middle of the ocean.

The kids miss their daddy and want him to come home but it has been easier this time around. They are getting older and are starting to understand what their daddy is doing and why he can't come home for months at a time.

The rabbits are doing good. Still not friends, although I have not really tried to bond them yet. I want to wait until after Hershey is spayed before I really try to bond them. Velvet will be a year old next month. I can't believe she is already a year old. Hershey will be 6 months old and ready to go in for her spay beginning of May. I hope her surgery goes better than Velvet's did.

So that about sums it up. Life has been hectic, I had the flu recently and the house work has not been getting done as much as it should but I have been enjoying having all my kids home and the freedom to do what I want with them. I love my kids and as enfuriating and annoying as they can be at times, I love having them home with me. I love watching them learn new things. Kevin is doing basic math and I am so proud of him. Emily is working on her numbers and is doing really well. Cameron seems to have mastered telling time, we are slowly working on math and writing because it is his sore subject and he really dislikes it. So I am trying to make things fun for him to hopefully instill a love of learning.

Well I think I better end this and get to cleaning up some so I can go to bed. I will hopefully be back in the near future for more posts so I don't have to do these long updates lol.

Hershey

2010-02-17T22:42:00.001-05:00

Hershey
Originally uploaded by elaine.pepsicola81

Feeding Hershey her formula.

MVI_0202

2010-02-17T12:31:00.001-05:00

MVI_0202
Originally uploaded by elaine.pepsicola81

Flickr

2010-02-17T12:30:00.001-05:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Update

2010-02-16T00:11:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to post a little update since it's been a little while. I got another bunny last week. She an american standard and is now 7 weeks old. It took me a few days but I finally decided on a name for her, Hershey. Velvet got spayed last week as well and had some digestive problems after that and had to be put on some meds for it. She was recovering and I thought she was doing great until today. I noticed her one eye was glued shut and had green discharge. I cleaned up her eye and called the vet to ask about it. They told me I should bring her in so she has an appointment in the morning. About two hours ago I noticed that my baby Hershey was not acting normal. She is shaking her whole body and while she is still eating and moving about, she seems to have trouble with her balance at times. I will be calling the vet first thing when they open to see if they can squeeze her in around the time Velvet will be there. I hope it's just my imagination and she isn't very ill, either of them. I love my bunnies so much. Robert says they are 'just' pets but not to me. I have always been loving toward animals and tend to treat them as if they were people. They have feelings and personalities just like us so why shouldn't I treat them with love and respect?

I'm also having problems with Cameron but that's a whole other story, will try to post on that this Friday. (I have an appointment with some people to discuss him)

The rest of the kids seem to be doing well. They have their moments but don't we all? I just barely passed my latest class with an A- so I'm happy. I was really worried I was going to get a B, even though a B is still passing, I still wanted an A. I just started my bussiness management course and hopefully that goes well. So far it is very interesting and I look forward to the next 6 weeks. I have also been working on my dental work. I have gotten about 3/4 of the work done and hopefully will be finished by the end of March. After that, it will be a lot of routine cleanings but hopefully nothing big for a while yet.

Robert is still deployed and will be for a while yet. He's been gone for about a month and a half and it feels like forever. It really helps that I have the kids, rabbits and my school work to keep me extremely busy everyday.

Well it's late so I think I will go to bed.

Christmas

2009-12-29T16:04:00.003-05:00

I suppose I should update my blog. We had a very nice Christmas with just us. I had hoped that Robert's brother and step dad would have been able to visit but they weren't able to this year. :( So anyways, we had a very nice Holiday. Christmas Eve we made cookies for Santa, the kids had a ton of fun cutting out the cookies from the dough and then decorating them after they were cooled off enough. Christmas morning the kids had their stockings to play with, then breakfast. After breakfast we did presents. I had them go one at a time so it was less hectic and I could get pictures. Plus we didn't have that many gifts this year with money being tight so I wanted it to last a little longer. Velvet had fun running around trying to open gifts and chew on anything that was on the floor. It was a very nice morning. After the kids were done unwrapping, we put the stuff together that needed it and spent the day playing with the kids. Robert and I managed to go 2 days without spending more than a few minutes on the computers. It was easier to go without the internet than I thought it would be.
I will post a few pictures on here. The rest are on my Flickr.

http://flickr.com/gp/35480250@N07/p80478
http://flickr.com/gp/35480250@N07/26G6s0
http://flickr.com/gp/35480250@N07/xc1u75

Kevin and Emily's Birthday

2009-12-03T21:57:00.005-05:00

Since Robert is leaving before their birthdays, we decided to do a little something for them while Robert was still home. We took the kids to Toys R Us to pick out a toy. Kevin got a big Bakugan ball that had the little balls and cards inside, Emily got a tinkerbell doll and Cameron got a little GI Joe action figure. Robert also got some nerf swords to play with the kids. After the toy store, we went home and everyone played outside for a little bit. Then we had cake. Emily and Kevin enjoyed blowing out the candles. Emily kept sticking her finger in the icing though lol. It wasn't much of a party but the kids had fun. I did the writing on the cake, it is a lot harder to do than I thought it would be, oh well, they didn't care. Kevin and Emily had picked the cake and candles as well as the icing I used to do the writing with so they were happy. I was having flash issues so the pictures aren't my best. Oh well, it was a good day regardless. :) Happy early Birthday to my babies.

Storyboard

2009-11-17T22:35:00.001-05:00

Here's the storyboard I said I was going to make. I may try some different backgrounds and what not, but I really like how this one turned out.

Kevin and Velvet

2009-11-17T21:10:00.004-05:00

Kevin and Velvet have always been close. From the time we picked her out and brought her home, she seemed to have an instant bond with Kevin. They play hide and seek and follow the leader. They also just lounge around while Kevin plays with her ears like in these pictures. It is so amazing to see them together, just looking at these pictures brings a smile to my face.

I didn't do any editing to them yet. I might warm them up a tad since they do look a little cool to me. I am also planning on making a storyboard as well. I'll post that when I get it made.

Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T20:50:00.006-05:00

Feeling sentimental and missing Robert today, I came across this song and it just makes me cry. I am so proud of my sailor, serving his country when he would rather be home with us. I am so thankful of the sacrifices that he makes every day for us.

I love you Robert and miss you very much, come home safe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alWK506z_os&feature=fvw

seamless paper

2009-11-11T20:13:00.006-05:00

I ordered a roll of seamless photography paper (107" x 12' in black) and it arrived yesterday. After some confusion as to whether it would fit on my crossbar for my stand, I was able to get it set up and as I started to unroll it, I noticed that about 4 feet of it was ripped in several places. That was a bit of a bummer, but not too bad I guess. I took some pictures last night and then some more today. Due to it raining all day long, I did not have any natural light to play with so I had to use my studio lighting again and bump my ISO to 1600 which my camera really does not like. Here are some of the pictures I got:

Today's shoot

2009-11-07T16:15:00.002-05:00

I had decided last night that I was going to do a shoot with the kids today. I had planned on useing my black background but it was MIA so I had to go with the white instead. After ironing, it still looked horrible. Then the kids did not want their pictures taken so I did not get any cooperation from them. Anyways, here are the few I decided to keep.

For Robert:

2009-11-06T19:29:00.002-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBh7Muv0yac

Velvet's fall pictures

2009-10-27T21:31:00.003-04:00

Velvet had a lot of fun playing outside and getting her pictures taken. She ate lots of leaves and also put a hole in one of the pumpkins from eating it. I think she is almost ready to go out without her harnes on, I don't want to lose her though. I was able to take the leash off and she did fine. We'll see.

Anyways, here she is:

She is a Rex and is 5 months old. She is 19 inches sitting and 18 inches around her belly. I have not been able to weigh her yet and could not get any more measuring done without her getting mad at me.

Some recent pictures of Kevin and Emily

2009-10-25T23:19:00.003-04:00

Essay on the article "What's wrong with Cinderella?" by Peggy Orenstein

2009-10-25T23:09:00.004-04:00

I am pretty proud of this essay, even if it isn't very good. It is something I feel strongly about and wanted to put on my blog, so here it is.

Elaine Smith
College Composition 1
Assignment 4d critical analysis essay

The article “What’s Wrong with Cinderella?” by Peggy Orenstein, published in the New York Times has gotten a lot of attention on the web. Peggy Orenstein’s views are that of a feminist and a mother. In her article she writes about the princess industry, her own personal experiences as well as mentioning many sources and studies that have been done on the issue.

Peggy Orenstein writes that no evidence can be found to disprove what she has to say and I must agree with her. I have looked all over the internet trying to find something, anything that would give validation to my point of view; however, there don’t appear to be any. I understand that many feminists feel very strongly for what they believe; although I have never been a feminist, I too feel strongly for what I believe. So who is wrong and who is right? Does there really have to be a loser? Peggy Orenstein mentioned Tinker Bell, who is being marketed for the tween stage, ages 6-9 and although I do not agree with her belief that princesses are bad; I must admit that I did not like Tinker Bell when I first saw her. She is dressed too sexy, barely wearing anything at all. In the movie Tinker Bell, she seemed to have that I’m better than you attitude. Even as much as I disliked that little fairy, I could not keep my little girl from her. She loves ‘Tink’ and there is nothing I can or will do about it except to be a parent and talk to her about what kind of dress and behavior is acceptable and what isn’t. Yes I believe that the princess chain can have a negative effect on little girls. However, I also believe that if the child is brought up knowing that being a girl and playing with princess paraphernalia does not mean she is helpless and can’t do anything for herself, then she will be just fine.

Does wanting to be pretty and get married to a good guy really mean that a woman/girl is being degraded? Is it not possible to be pretty and married to your own prince as well as being a strong independent working woman? If playing dress up is wrong, why do so many adult women do it when they are preparing for a wedding? Or just out shopping for a ball gown to go dancing in? Why is being feminine such a bad thing? Out of all the articles I have read, from Peggy’s “What’s wrong with Cinderella?” to Etienne Benson with “Toy Stories” as well as Caryn Murphy’s “She might like to be a Veterinarian” and many more, I still have not found an answer that answers those questions. It seems as though the feminists of this century have run out of things to fight for and just want to knit pick every little thing they can.

I think that if everyone could calm down some, we would be able to see that each side has valid points. It is ok to dream of being rescued by a prince and swept off your feet to live happily ever after, when you’re 9 years old. But, with proper guidance you learn that life doesn’t usually work out that way. I always loved princesses when I was little, I still do. However, I know the difference between fantasy and reality. My daughter will know the same, but for now, she can decorate her room in pink frilly things and play with her princess dolls all she wants.

For some time now the girls toy market has been cornered by the Disney princess chain as well as some newer princesses that have jumped on the band wagon, as pointed out by Peggy Orenstein in her article. However, I tend to disagree with those studies. Yes, there are loads of princess items on the market, they fill up every pink aisle in a toy store. What about all those other toys in the store though? Anyone can go into a toy store and see that there is a very vibrant pink section and then there is the darker camo type section for the boys. Why is it that these stereotypes are around for both boys and girls and yet the only ones that seem to get any attention are the girls? The message I get from these feminists is that it is just fine to stereotype boys but don’t try to do it with girls.

The clear distinction between boys’ and girls’ toys in a toy store have never stopped me from going into the boy section and getting a model airplane or car and some modeling paint to put together with my dad. Why is it that just because something is labeled for a boy/girl then it is off limits for the opposite sex? Peggy says that there are no other options for girls than to play with pink princess stuff but I must disagree. The possibilities are limitless if you don’t place boundaries on your child. If you only let your child have toys that are labeled for that particular child, they will never be able to think outside the box and do anything different. A little girl playing dress up is considered normal behavior and therefore acceptable, put a little boy in the same situation and people tend to overreact and say something is wrong with that child. No one ever considered that that little boy could grow up to be the next Gucci or Calvin Klein or any of the other famous clothing designers. That is just an example of children being placed in gender roles. This has been going on since the beginning of time, it is nothing new. What do we do about it though? Feminists have come a long way; women are seen as equals with men, but I don’t believe that the gender wars will ever end.

This article has opened my eyes to the fact that there are LOTS of people who feel the same way this woman does. Princesses have to be evil and the cause of all our self esteem and sexual problems, it can’t possibly be the fault of the parents and how they raise said child. Peggy Orenstein is very opinionated in her article, she has some valid points as well as some good sources; but I still fail to understand her point of view, honestly I don’t think I ever will. Blaming an entire merchandise chain for parents’ inability to teach their young girls the difference between fantasy and reality will never solve anything, which is exactly what I think Peggy Orenstein did in her article “What is wrong with Cinderella?”

Works cited:

· Article: “What’s wrong with Cinderella?”
Author: Peggy Orenstein

· Article: “She Might like to be a Veterinarian”:Parents, parent companies, and the princess Movement
Author: Caryn Murphy-university of Wisconsin, Madison
May 06, 2008

· Wikipedia: Disney Princesses

· Article: “Toy Stories”
Author: Etienne Benson-the ObserverDec. 2006 Volume 19, Number 12

Busy Life

2009-08-29T01:27:00.003-04:00

I have been so busy I haven't really had the time to update my blog. Robert got home about a month ago. After that I got sick with a bad kidney infection. I wouldn't recommend a kidney infection, they are not fun. I also started school on Aug. 17th and that has been keeping me very busy. So far I am doing ok with it. It is difficult but I'm sure I will get the hang of things eventually.

We got a bunny recently. She is such a sweet, cute little thing. Well she's not exactly little anymore. She has grown so much. Her name is velvet and the kids love her.

I am attaching some pictures. These were all taken between about a month ago to a couple days ago.

Back to school

2009-07-25T21:23:00.002-04:00

I just finished my registration for school. I must admit I'm a little scared. It's been 10 years since I've graduated high school and I never did very well there. I suppose it's nice that I am doing everything online so I won't have to step foot in a class room. I don't know, I'm just really nervous. I don't want to do bad.

Anyways, I start on Aug. 17th and will be doing the certificate program for the first year. If I pass that with a high enough GPA then I will start on the degree program. So 5 years total, if I can keep my grades up.

I am going to Ellis University. I was going to go with University of Phoenix but changed my mind. I hope I didn't make a mistake. This school seems like a good choice for me.

Back from vacation

2009-07-23T02:00:00.002-04:00

I've been back from vacation for a little while now. I have been busy with things and haven't really had the time for working on the blog. I'll get around to posting about my vacation in a few days I think.

Vacation 6/16- 7/15

2009-06-15T08:39:00.002-04:00

I am getting ready to leave for my drive to Az.
I still have so much that needs done and instead I keep sitting at this computer :( I need a power outage or something lol.

Anyways, I'll be back in a month with pictures and stories. Maybe sooner if I use my mom's computer but probably not, I figure I'll be pretty busy.

My little helper

2009-06-10T22:11:00.003-04:00

Look at that face, isn't he just so cute? Makes me want to give him a big hug.

I was in the kitchen washing dishes and Kevin pulls up a chair and says he wants to do it.
Such a little sweetheart. So I gave him a sponge and he got to work. He worked so hard at cleaning those dishes for me he didn't want to stop when they were done. But then his brother came home from school and he wanted to go outside and play. Can't do house work when big brother is around.

Bath Time

2009-06-10T18:05:00.007-04:00

I was going through my pictures of Emily taking a bath back
when I first got my camera. Robert was giving the bath while I snapped pictures. I really love these 2 pictures. They just stand out to me for some reason. Maybe it's the expression. The sheer look of joy and idolization she has for Daddy. It is not very often that Daddy will give a bath so when it happens she really enjoys it. We can't wait till he is home again. He doesn't realize it yet but he will be giving Emily lots of baths. She likes it, therefore it will happen. (insert evil laugh)

Cameron graduated Kindergarten

2009-06-09T10:51:00.005-04:00

As soon as the kids got loaded into the auditorium I was close to tears. My baby boy is growing up. I remember his first day of school. Watching him get on the bus for the first time. I cried then too.

I am such a sap, I know, but I can't help it. I am so proud of my little boy.

NEVER STOP LEARNING, a poem by Amanda Bradley

On this, your graduation day all stand and give cheer
to honor you for all the work you’ve done to get you here.
As we rise and give applause be sure you don’t forget
that learning is not over as your future plans are met.
May you always be a listener and learn from all you meet
always keep a student’s spirit and your life will be complete.

Digital Scrap booking

2009-06-08T08:44:00.004-04:00

I decided to take a look at digital scrap booking since I was told it is so much cheaper and neater than doing it the old fashioned way. Plus I lack imagination so it helps that I can get full kits.

What a day

2009-06-05T17:22:00.003-04:00

I am so sore and tired I really wish I could just go hide under the covers in bed and not come out till next week.

So the day started off decent enough. I decided to take the van in for an oil change and general checkup. It needed to be done and I had been putting it off long enough. After sitting there for a while the mechanic comes out and tells me that something is broken and it needs replaced. Sorry for the lack of detail, my brain is on auto drive right now. Anyways, the new part costs 800 dollars.

I asked him if we could make our trip to AZ and back with it the way it was and he of course says no so I gave the go ahead to replace it. Good bye savings, it was nice having you around for the short time that you were here, we will miss you dearly. It wasn't going to be done for a while so we walked home. 2 and a half miles, about 2 miles into it I realized I never got my house keys from the mechanics. They had all my keys. NICE lol my own fault but still frustrating.

I ended up borrowing a key from the office so we could get inside the apartment. I'll have to remember to return it tomorrow before we go to the baby shower. As soon as Cameron got home from school we left for the walk back to the mechanics where the van was. It rained almost the entire time. We were soaked and I could barely move by the time we got there. My pants were glued to me and my feet made squishy noises with every step.

I paid for the work, got my keys back and left. As soon as I backed up the van and turned the steering wheel I was pleasantly surprised. The steering wheel actually turned. Without any effort at all. I thought "is this normal?" I never knew it could be so easy to turn a steering wheel. I guess my steering has been bad for a while.

Well we are home now and I am exhausted. I want to go to bed. The kids seem to be energized. Even after walking so long they still have a bunch of energy. Where do they store it all? Can I borrow some?

After the day I had I think I deserve a treat. I'm thinking Chinese food will be nice.

Another Collage

2009-06-03T14:15:00.000-04:00

collage

2009-06-02T10:29:00.001-04:00

Editing

2009-05-28T09:08:00.004-04:00

I am really beginning to love Photo shop CS4. I have come a long way since I first started. I can tell just by looking at my old pictures. Granted, I'm not so vein to think that I'm great, I just notice that my edits are starting to look better as I get more comfortable with the program. Here is something I have been playing with today.

Here is the original image:

First edit: Black and white. Using gradient map, and curves for light and contrast

second edit: Vintage look. Unsharp mask, adjust color range, gaussian blur and fade

third edit: natural. Adjust curves for contrast and light. Desaturate and unsharp mask.

That is all for now. Back to sifting through pictures I think. Obviously each of the edits were cropped.

Edits

2009-05-23T17:07:00.004-04:00

Some edits from today

Scrap booking

2009-05-23T15:50:00.004-04:00

This is my first attempt at scrap booking so don't laugh too hard. I don't have all the fancy stuff yet. Just got some paper and stickers that were on sale.

I have only finished 4 pages so far, anyways here they are.

Flowers at the zoo

2009-05-23T14:58:00.003-04:00

A Trip to the Zoo

2009-05-23T14:33:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures from the zoo today. The conductor of the train took a picture of me and the kids. Kevin is hiding :( But oh well. Normally I wouldn't let a stranger use my camera but for some reason this time I did.

Now for the food, continued

2009-05-22T20:05:00.004-04:00

Here is the finished product. It was so good.
Cameron did nothing but complain and mutilate his food. Kevin and Emily ate pretty well given they are sick.

Now for the food,

2009-05-22T18:00:00.003-04:00

I think this is pretty self explanatory. I'll be back later with a picture of the finished product.

New Shoes

2009-05-22T17:50:00.003-04:00

I finally got around to replacing my shoes that have been falling apart for some time now. I decided on a pair of Nike's that I thought looked similar to Emily's shoes. Strange, I know but I wanted our shoes to match. They are not as similar as I thought. The only thing that is similar is the pink Nike sign :( Oh well.

I like my new shoes. They are comfortable. Could be a little wider but it's not bad. I am starting to think maybe a lot of my knee problems are from my crappy shoes I had. For the first time in a long time I went down the stairs to start a load of laundry and there was no pain in my knee. NONE. Needless to say, I'm surprised. I have gone up and down the stairs 5 times since then to see if maybe it was just a fluke and every time, no pain.

Now for the pictures

Old shoes, and New shoes.

Our rings

2009-05-21T22:19:00.002-04:00

Here is one of the pictures I took of our wedding rings tonight. Some time I'll invest in some jewelry cleaner and clean up those rings, but for now they will keep their "aged" look lol.

I still have never seen someone else with the same rings we have. That is one thing I really love about them, besides that we picked them out together. They don't look like every other wedding ring out there.

What's for dinner? pt. 3

2009-05-21T18:40:00.006-04:00

Everyone should be able to tell what dinner is just by the above pictures. But I'll tell you anyways. Maybe some people live a sheltered life. Tonight we made, or mostly the kids made piggies in a blanket. Or as Cameron calls them "guinea pigs" where he got that, I have no clue.

So the boys did the rolling of the piggies. While I stood back and watched. I decided early on that I would not be eating dinner tonight. Note the above picture. Yup you don't want to know where that finger was before it went in the mouth. Then back onto the food. Yummy.

Now they are ready for cooking. Shove into a very hot 450 degree oven. And take pictures of the silly kids while we wait for them to cook. They can't wait for the new Ice Age movie to come out. Already got the 3D glasses.

Food is done, and the end result is very yummy looking. But I'm still not eating it. Especially now that Emily and Kevin appear to have what Cameron was sick with the other day. My poor babies.

Kevin just had to sneak his head into the picture of the food lol. Silly child.

Going back to school

2009-05-20T18:36:00.002-04:00

So after 10 years of no school I have decided to continue what little education I already have.
I have looked at a couple schools and I think I have found one that would fit me and my lifestyle.
I have started my registration at Ellis university and because of Robert being in the military I don't have to pay any of the enrollment fees and I get discounted classes. The first 4 courses that I would have to pay out of pocket are 300 dollars each. Which is very affordable.

I should be starting Aug. 17th.
1 course at a time with each course being 6 weeks. I have to maintain a 2.0 gpa to stay in the program. I'm hoping that won't be a problem.

I am going for a BA in Business Accounting. (I think that's what they are calling it) lol
Sorry I'm not completely sure.

I really like the website and I am so excited to be going back to school. I can't wait :)

Robert is so supportive and completely on board and happy for me to be going back to school and doesn't care that I will most likely be taking his GI bill. Such a great husband. Though I think he might be supporting me for selfish reasons. lol He wants me to bring in some money, which is fine with me. :)

I love my husband :)

Ok that is all. lol

My Poor Baby

2009-05-19T16:35:00.004-04:00

I realize Cameron is coming up on 7 years now but he's still my baby. Especially when he is sick. He told me this morning he had a head ache and was running a fever. I gave him some Tylenol and sent him to school. I figured he was exaggerating how bad he was feeling to get out of going to school.

So he got home from school still claiming to be running a fever and not feeling well. I took his temp and it's 103.6 :( My poor baby, he has probably been running a fever all day. I gave him some Tylenol and an ice pack and hopefully I won't have to take him to the hospital.

He just looks so miserable it breaks my heart. :( Feel better little man.

What's for dinner? again :)

2009-05-18T19:01:00.007-04:00

Taking pictures of what I cook inspires me to keep on getting up off my butt and cooking some more. So much of the time I would take the lazy route and order pizza, Chinese or anything else that can be delivered. So with that being said, this is what we had for dinner.

It was so yummy.

So first I started with the potatoes. Such cute little baby potatoes. Cut those up small and got them cooking.

Then I moved on to the Pork Chops. I rinsed them and cut away the bones and most of the fat, put them in a skillet and added some seasoning.

I do not add salt to anything I make. Ever. I hate salt and think food has enough of it on it's own.
lol, I just noticed that I added season salt to my pork chops. So I'll change that to say I don't add normal salt to food and I'll add season salt to meats.

Moving on, I got the veggie cooking.

Then before I knew it, it was time to mash the potatoes. I had forgotten how much work it is to mash potatoes by hand. So they ended up being pretty lumpy. I don't care, they were good anyways.

I forgot to get a picture of the gravy. It was just plain old chicken gravy out of a can.

So I got the kids' plates made up and buttered bread. Of course the children did not eat anything :( This was the main reason I stopped cooking to begin with. What is the point when no one will eat it? It can't taste that bad, I like it. :D

Well that was dinner. Yum Yum Pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn and buttered bread. With a small glass of milk for each of the kids.

I play WoW (world of warcraft)

2009-05-18T08:49:00.005-04:00

Yes, I play the game and I'm not scared to say so :D

Log in and character select screens.

These are my "I spend too much time playing the game" mounts.

Happy tree dance Woot! And then there's the chicken dance, not as great as the tree dance but it has it's charm.

What's for dinner?

2009-05-17T19:54:00.014-04:00

I started with a steak. A cheap one from the commissary.
Then I cut the meat away from the bone and got rid of as much of the fat as I could.
I cut it into small chunks and put it in a marinade over night.

I can tell you what all I put in the marinade but there really wasn't any method to my madness.

Marinade:
Worcestershire sauce
Bacardi orange
honey bbq sauce

and possibly something else, I honestly don't remember. lol

Alrighty, fast forward to today. Emily is such a good helper. Peeling onions so I don't have to. :D

I did all the chopping, of course. I had to fight Kevin and Emily for my peppers but I finally got those chopped and in a container. They are so pretty.

Honestly, I had no clue what I was going to make for dinner. Just that I was going to use the steaks that had been marinading all night and most of today.
Since I had taken so much time chopping onions and peppers. I knew those would be going in with the steak.

Is it just me or does that look yummy?

Moving on, I finally decided on penne pasta. So I got that cooking as well.

Then came the problem. I realized I didn't have any sauce to add to it.
So I began the search through the pantry trying to find something I could use that would taste halfway decent and that my picky children will actually eat.

Then I saw it. Cream of mushroom soup. Perfect :)

So once the pasta was done cooking I drained it and added half the can of soup, some milk and 2 tablespoons of butter. Stirred everything together and this is what we got.

Trust me, it tastes better than it looks.
So then I remembered I needed a veggie. I like green so I went with peas.

And the finished product:

Yummy :)

Even the critics ate it. Oh and in case you are wondering, it's tomato soup that's splattered all over the wall.

Well not all the critics ate.

Such a hard child to please.

So that was dinner. It was really good, but I'm not looking forward to the clean up.

Outside Fun

2009-05-17T14:33:00.007-04:00

We had our carpets cleaned so it gave me an excuse to take the kids outside to play. I also love any opportunity to take pictures of my kids. I made the mistake of changing the WB on the camera and most of my pictures turned out bad. Almost all of them were blown out and just plain out looked bad.
Here are a few that I was able to fix.

LEFT: Emily leaning on the big tree in front of our building.
RIGHT: Kevin riding his bike all by himself for the first time. I am so proud of him.

Emily trying to tie her shoe

Emily getting blown away by the wind

Kevin playing with his new Bakugan ball key chain.